Foyles Hotel Clifden

Today was a bit cloudy and slightly cool as we packed up. Kevin and his wife Maura served us a filling breakfast of bacon and eggs before we said good-by and left to fight the Galway traffic. Surprisingly, our exit went pretty smoothly, and we drove northward to the village of Knock.

In Knock, in 1879, the Virgin Mary appeared to fifteen villagers . With her were St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist. Mary wore a gold crown with a red rose in the center front ...

... Villanova students didnt get to climb all the way to the top because it takes about 2 and a half hours to get up and we just didnt have the time. However we did climb up for about 30 minutes and were rewarded with a fantastic view of the surrounding county. It really was a great hike because it got the blood pumping (havent been doing too much exercise since I got here..) and you climbed alongside a very picturesque little stream all the ...

... The sun was shinning but the bay was still in the grips of the storm of the previous day. We were in the enclosed part of the boat until the lady in front of us started tossing her big Irish breakfast. At that point we needed to get AIR. Jim discovered a nice open area in the bow of the boat. It was not crowded so we stayed there sucking in the fresh air for the rest of the journey. The boat dropped us off at Inisheer, the littlest of the three ...

... about the whole ordeal. So much in fact that I studied the maps the night before in order to make sure I knew the quickest and easiest way out of the city without incident. Getting out of the city was not a big deal very nerve racking but at the end of it that was definitely not the worst of what happened today. You will here more later.

After we got out of the city we were off to the Irish National Stud. Which was originally owned by the son of Johnny Walker, Colonel William ...

... 70 and so sweet. She started to pull the first pint and Jim stopped her to ask if she took credit cards or US dollars. She said "oh no dear, we do not." When we said we had not changed money yet she said, "Just have one now and bring the money back later." Now, who in the US would say that? We of course did not take her up on the offer. We got directions to a market, purchased some supplies and stopped at a place that ...

... became our worst enemy as they lined the road so closely, there was absolutely no shoulder whatsoever. Scariest thing so far…cars zooming by you about a foot away…at one point we very nearly got pancaked by a semi. (They shouldn’t be allowed on narrow Irish roads). All in all, by our third mile of walking, we were some very nerve-rattled girls. At that point, we hadn’t seen any road signs reassuring ...

... proprio dall'altro lato rispetto al Mannion's. Sembrano in cinque e invece sono solo in due, la gente stretta in piedi con la birra in mano a battere il piede per terra. Uno è Micky Martin(arpa, bouzouki, mandolino, voce) e l'altro Fergan Scahill(chitarra, bodhran, violino, ma qui lo chiamano fiddle). Fanno musica irlandese, ma rigorosamente amplificata. La loro potenza sonora è incredibile, fanno pezzi velocissimi alternati a melodie ...

... che vedo la torba. La lasciano asciugare ammucchiata come tronchetti. Una contadina la sta raccogliendo, mentre il suo cane pastore bianco e nero ci osserva. Ci fermiamo a Roundstone a pranzo. Ci servono una ottima zuppa di verdure allo Shamrock Bar. Paghiamo anche poco, che non guasta.
Curiosamente, la birra della settimana è la Peroni. Foto ricordo.
In paese visitiamo il Musical Instrument Craft Centre, dove costruiscono strumenti musicale, fra cui il ...

Day two was wonderful! We went west and north from our B&B, stopping first at the bridge made famous in the movie, "The Quiet Man!" From there up the sky road, and through the mountains to Kylemor Abbey, and further north, northeast to Ashford Castle, (I think!) Some very tight roads, and I am very glad Jeff is doing the driving! (Audie and I would be in an Irish divorce court if ...

... was a fire in 1910. The castle is right along the corribe river and next to tons of fields. Once we explored the castle we then went into the adjoining field this is the picture of the rolling fields. After we were in that field we started on the way back and took pictures with the horse. There is also a picture of a thatched roof house on the way back.